About Us

Our Mission

Located in the heart of Downtown, Pioneer Courthouse Square is affectionately known as Portland’s Living Room.

Pioneer Courthouse Square’s mission is to activate and enrich the environment of the City of Portland’s central public park and gathering space for the benefit of Portland’s community members and visitors. Working in partnership with the City of Portland, our non-profit organization has successfully fulfilled the Park’s prominent public role with the leadership of community volunteers and private sector contributions. In recent years, through this unique public-private management model, the Square has been recognized as one of the most successfully managed public spaces in the United States.

Each year the Square is activated by more than 300 programmed event days made possible through community-driven initiative and the generosity of sponsors throughout the Portland region. This scope of annual programming contains iconic annualized community traditions and unique ‘once in a lifetime’ events that reflect the civic role of the Park within its community and the evolving needs of the citizenry that it supports.

Vision for the Square

Since the Park’s grand opening in 1984 the downtown urban landscape surrounding the Park has evolved significantly, as have the needs of the community that the Park serves. As a result, Pioneer Courthouse Square, in partnership with the City of Portland, has identified Vision Goals for the Square. These multi-year goals identify the need for an increase in quality programming, facility replacement needs, and essential on-going maintenance.

Goal 1: To continually improve the quality of on-site services and amenities to enrich the Park environment and serve as a magnet for positive behavior.

Goal 2: To develop signature event programming that creates a broad community experience uniting the diverse population groupings that share our region.

Goal 3: Enrich the public-private partnership with the City of Portland to:

Increase the ability to raise funds to support the Park and its operation

Clarify and seek agreement on Park maintenance roles and responsibilities